Alaric blinked, dumbfounded. Had Aiden just…

[Don’t make it weird] Alia snapped the boy out of whatever twisted thoughts he was about to concoct.

“Oh, it was nothing,” the green-eyed boy countered smoothly. ‘Why is my heart beating so fast?’ he wondered.

“You don’t need to act cool. I think I’ve seen enough,” the boy chuckled, “If it weren’t for you, we would not have made it back and I can’t thank you enough for that. I’ve heard rumours of thieves stealing orbs from promising aspirants for various reasons… Portions, Temper Pills, Money… But I never thought I’d meet the worst of them. Most of the rumours mention bandits, not mercenaries.”

As Aiden spoke, the large gathering approached the stingray. SwiftWind slowly glided lower so they could all see the boy seated atop his back.

Covered in dirt and the scent of the woods with one hell of a messy mop of hair, Alaric couldn’t look any more dishevelled. His clothes were covered in dirt, sap and wrinkled beyond recognition having been recreated poorly by his Ability.

All that remained intact on his body was a shiny silver bracelet with the symbol of the Tower of Seekers and a simple charm hanging from his neck.

“So this is the boy that we owe our children’s lives to,” the old man with a powerful aura spoke out loud, catching Alaric’s attention.

Aiden stood aside and bowed his head respectfully to the man. The air seemed to react to man’s presence as well, going completely still. Under his calm gaze, the world went deathly silent… too silent.

[He’s even more impressive up close] Alia chuckled to herself. In truth, the shivers that ran through the powerful guardian reached Alaric through their bond.

Alaric hadn’t met anyone Alia didn’t disregard as second-rate except for the Master of the Tower of Seekers. While he had the chance, Alaric took in the man’s features.

Wisps of white hair were mixed into his dark hair, creating a pure black-and-white contrast, unlike anything Alaric had ever seen. It almost appeared intentional for him to have partly black hair and white hair. If it wasn’t for the randomness of the two colours, he would have thought the man dyed his hair.

He wore a simple tunic that looked more like a gown worn for ceremonial events than normal clothes. Alas, the silken texture of the simple clothes told a different story, a story of opulence beyond what a small village should have been capable of.

Still, these clothes were simple in contrast to those worn by Miss Vermillion, the high-strung noble who had offered Alaric money in exchange for his guardian.

“I would like to express our deepest gratitude to you. Perhaps a warm bath, a change of clothes, a warm bed and the best food Jack’s Fall has to offer,” the man suggested.

Alaric’s heart melted… A warm bath sounded exactly like the thing he needed, “It’s getting late though. We really have to…”

“We can send Miss Marla a message by messenger owl. The three of you will return to the Five Hills in time for breakfast. Tonight, let’s thank you for returning our children to us safe and sound.

We have a festival this time of year, you know. It would be a shame for a hero to miss such a brilliant event,” the man’s voice was deep and had that charm with the power to stop all rejections in one’s throat.

Alaric was fighting a losing battle. He squirmed under the man’s gaze, turning to his friends for help. The two looked away from him and Alaric could almost hear their thoughts, ‘You’re the hero, not us.’

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Garin?” Alaric turned to the stingray rider with a beaming smile.

‘My knight in shining armour,’ his thoughts swooned.

The man sighed deeply… “If the Messenger Owl returns with Marla’s positive reply, we can stay the night.”

“That sounds wonderful,” the old man replied, “It’s decided then…”

“That’s not what I…” Garin started only to get cut off by the old man.

“Aiden, lead these fine aspirants to my manor. The festival today is about them too, y’know. And you can never have too many aspirants.”

Aiden turned to Alaric and extended his hand for him to take, “Come. I’ll show you to the old man’s manor.”

“When did I agree to…” Garin tried once more.

This time, the old man turned to him with his hand raised, “Come, Garin. Let’s get the message to Marla before it's too late to wake the owls.”

With that, Garin left with the old man and elders to discuss other matters in detail, while the youngsters gathered around Alaric and his friends.

“Let’s try having proper introductions this time,” Aiden cheered before they spiralled off into the epic tales of Alaric the Brave and All-Powerful.

The two girls that had attended the Appraisal Ceremony turned to them at the mention of introductions, “You’ve met Raven.”

Raven, a girl with short red hair whom Alaric had simply named Red, bowed her head a bit, “My name’s Raven. An only child and Aiden’s best friend. Honestly, he wouldn’t be able to function without me.”

“Alright, that’s enough about Raven. She loves herself a little more than everybody else so don’t take offence if she suddenly calls you ugly or untalented,” Aiden rolled his eyes.

“You can’t run from the truth, Aiden. Everyone else’s talent is dull in the light of my genius,” the redhead raised her chin to the sky.

“She comes from a family of swordsmen who also happen to be skilled swordsmiths. I’m not sure how that combination worked out for them but they taught me everything I know about battle. The old man paid for everything though,” Aiden explained.

“Next, we have Rose. She’s a bookworm, that one. She knows more about Elemental Guardians and music than she does about the length of her hair,” Aiden explained.

The girl in question, looked at her waistlong jet-black hair and blushed red, keeping her eyes on the ground, “Nice to meet you.”

Her voice was as small as her confidence. Her clothes were long and straight like her hair and her personality dull… and yet, in the rare moment that she lifted her eyes to meet Alaric’s, the world seemed to light up like a beautiful sunset.

“Isn’t it ironic to call someone with red hair Raven and someone with black hair, Rose?” Alaric asked.

“Their parents are friends. If you ask me, I’d say it was a practical joke,” Aiden responded.

After this, Aiden introduced everyone else as they descended the hill. The rowdy blonde was back in his talkative mood… and was even acting a little friendly.

He didn’t exactly change the way he treated Alaric… but he did stop trying to show off like before.

Aiden had two siblings, a baby brother who stayed behind with his parents and a younger sister who stuck to him like glue much like Cody would always be seen following Alaric.

Raven was an only child while Rose had a much older sister who was pregnant with her firstborn. The children were swarmed by a group of four children younger than them, mainly seeking more intel on the tales of the hero from the Five Hills.

Following behind them was Gunther who couldn’t be bothered to say a word.

Alaric’s found himself relaxing under the ambient lighting of the festival lights. Being a village, Jack’s Fall lacked the fancy cobblestone streets and buildings made from fine stone.

However, they easily replaced all that with masterful woodcraft. The houses in Jack’s Fall were made of wood and the roads were paved with red stone, unlike anything Alaric was used to.

A bit of gardening here and there added a touch of nature’s beauty to their front lawns and backyards, giving the humble homes a much fancier look than an ordinary village.

The village elder’s manor was a bit isolated from the rest necessitating a short journey away from the village itself before finally reaching it.

When they saw it, Alaric and his friends went silent… and for good reason to. Besides the red stone roads and wooden style of building, everything about the manor was different from what they’d seen so far.

For starters, this manor sat on a sizable chunk of land and sported two floors running around in a square to create two compounds, one inside and one outside the house.

“This is where that old man lives?” Alaric breathed.

“Oh, it’s even more impressive on the inside. Maybe someday you can visit and tour it a bit more,” Aidan chuckled.

It was only for a moment but Alaric was reminded that he and his friends were only spending the night. There was much to see considering tonight was the Coming of Age festival.

They would be returning to the Five Hills the next day to then prepare for their journey to the Elite Guard Academy.

It would be a while before they returned to Jack’s Fall.

[All the more reason you should enjoy yourself] Alia whispered into the boy’s mind.